Monday, March 20 Matthew 5:21-26 “ . . . that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” The Law has said that if you take another’s life yours is to be taken in return (Leviticus 24:17). This is the legal or external consequence. But Jesus says anything that leads… Read more about But I tell you . . .
Obedience from the heart
Monday, March 13 Romans 3:19-24 “God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty” Paul shows that it is impossible for people to be saved by perfectly obeying God’s law for the obvious reason that all have failed in this regard. “All have sinned” makes it clear that all of us have disobeyed at… Read more about Obedience from the heart
You are the light of the world
Monday, March 6 John 1:1-9 “The true light that gives light to everyone” At creation God said, “’Let there be light’; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Out of the very life of God, light shone forth to dispel the darkness. That light of creation is in human beings in a particular way: the… Read more about You are the light of the world
Blessed are the persecuted
Monday, February 27 John 15:18-21 “The people of the world will hate you because you belong to me” Jesus explains the hatred of the world as a continuation of the hatred he personally witnessed throughout his public ministry. Jesus has been hated because as the light, he exposes the world’s deeds and unmasks them… Read more about Blessed are the persecuted
Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Monday, February 20 Matthew 24:4-8 “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars” It seems that achieving peace is a topic of almost every newscast, every daily newspaper in the United States, and in many of our discussions with each other. Peacemaking and peacekeeping is a concern in international relations, within our own… Read more about Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Monday, February 13 Romans 7:15-25 “When I want to do good, evil is right there with me” In this passage, Paul is speaking of the struggle of the Christian to fulfill the law of God or, as Jesus states it in the beatitudes, to be “pure in heart.” Paul knows that God has forgiven… Read more about Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Blessed are the merciful
Monday, February 6 Luke 10:30-37 “The one who had mercy on him” Once we have found the great central truth in life, that we are loved by God now and forever, we can behave like the Good Samaritan and show mercy to others. Our attitude becomes “Whatever is mine is God’s and whatever is… Read more about Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Monday, January 30 Psalm 42:1-6 “My soul thirsts for God” The psalm pictures someone far away from Jerusalem and unable to get there. Maybe literally the location is in the far north of the country. The foothills of Mount Hermon where the waters of the Jordan burst from the mountain, the region known as… Read more about Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness